Sugarcoating the Status Quo

Michael Chertoff, Homeland Insecurity Secretary, says deportation of illegals isn't practical:

"The cost of identifying all of those people and sending them back would be stupendous. It would be billions and billions of dollars," Chertoff told Sean Hannity on the Fox News Channel program "Hannity & Colmes" last night.

Asked the talk-show host: "Why don't we say, no, you're here illegally, you didn't respect our laws, you ought to go home?"

Chertoff again appealed to the issue of cost, saying, " Sean, you know, it's really an issue of practicality. I mean, as a practical matter, we've got to identify these people and pull them out of the shadows."

A couple of points. First, why is it that the government cares not a whit for how much something costs, except in cases involving illegal immigration? The pricetag on any number of other problems is a non-issue; but suddenly, when faced with deporting illegal aliens, well, it just isn't cost-effective. Since when is the government known for its frugality?

Second, Chertoff's being deceptive, here. Will deporting illegals cost a fortune? Yes. Will it cost more than they're leeching from us already with their presence in this country, as we speak? I don't see how. Free medical care, drastically reduced tuition fees, lost jobs Americans should be working, incarceration costs--these are just a few of the problems we're contending with, due to illegal immigration. And what of property damage, rapes, robberies, murders, and all the associated strains both material and emotional for those affected? The list goes on.

Setting aside the monetary aspect, you can't put a pricetag on many of the effects of crime and cultural dilution.

"… What this would let us do is acknowledge the reality that we've got hundreds and thousands of employers all over this country who are employing illegal aliens. Sometimes, individual citizens employing people in their home."

Which is against the law, last time I checked. It's obvious that the nonexistent or selective enforcement of immigration laws is a contributing factor in the rampant employment of illegal aliens. The government is at fault for this problem, yet it uses the situation as an excuse for doing nothing.

Not having mass deportations is spitting on the law, shrugging off national security, and laughing in the faces of those who have enough respect for our laws that they stand in line for ages, jumping through all the necessary hoops put before them, on the path to America.

It's a disgrace, and it's costing us. We'll keep right on paying for it, too.